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Sunday, August 28, 2011

We made it through our first week of day care! We did half-days this week while I set up my classroom. I cried as I was driving away the first 3 days, and then I was ok Thursday and Friday. But I know next week with full days will be so much harder. I just don't even have the energy to play with him much when I get home, let alone have the energy to clean the house or take care of the pets. I find myself wishing that I didn't have all these pets (4 cats and 1 tortoise). I feel bad about that.

I cried a few times this week after I picked him up because I felt like he didn't remember me. He avoided eye contact and seemed withdrawn. Someone on The Bump message boards suggested that he just needed "down time" after his busy day at day care and avoiding eye contact is the way babies say they need a break. I'm also wondering if he has trouble recognizing me in a different setting, because a couple days this week, I put him in his car seat and all of a sudden he looked straight at me and smiled the biggest smiles I've ever seen! That made my day to see how happy he was to see me.

My favorite time of day this week has been in the afternoon after day care when Nicholas and I sit in the glider and have quiet story time. Sometimes he looks at the books, and sometimes he just closes his eyes and sucks on his pacifier. But I know he's listening and I read in a calm, soothing tone. If he falls asleep, I take him to my bed and we nap together. I think he needs a break from all the stimulation of day care, and I know once school starts I will need that quiet time also. After his afternoon nap, he's ready to play when Daddy gets home from work. I love my little family!

Nicholas practicing his Russian dancing:

Nicholas and his new friend (a dinosaur blankie I got him that he naps with - I bought one for day care and one for home, so he'll always have something with him that smells like Mom. I hold it between us when I nurse him so he has something to grab onto.)

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Nicholas is experimenting with new noises. He now makes a panicked, bird-like squawk when he loses his pacifier or if we take it out of his mouth momentarily. He also makes a cooing sound in his sleep that is rhythmic, like a snore but so much cuter. I'll have to remember to get it on video the next time I hear it.

Nicholas is starting day care tomorrow and I'm a wreck. I keep feeling like I am going to miss out on so much this school year. He will be almost 1 year old by the time I can stay home with him again! Sometimes I just look at him and cry, and I know he picks up on my mood and it affects his mood as well. Then I feel worse and cry more. I don't know how to break the cycle.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Nicholas is such an alert little man. He likes to look over my shoulder at the trees moving outside. He giggles at pictures, patterns, and toys. He stares intently at our faces and he can beat anyone in a staring contest.

We are convinced he will crawl early because when I put him on his tummy, he kicks his legs and scoots himself forward if he has something to push off of.

I am hopeful that Nicholas will start sleeping through the night soon. He ate at 10 pm last night and then didn't eat again until 4am. He was up until midnight, but then slept for 4 hours straight.

I'm still trying to find a pattern in his naps during the day. On Monday, he slept through our whole Mommy and Me class. I paid $30 to watch my baby nap for an hour while all the other mommies and babies sang, danced, and played with musical instruments. We have another class tomorrow-we'll see if 11am is going to be his regular naptime.

Here's some pictures of my smiley man:

Smiling in his sleep:

And here's a picture of him when Daddy wouldn't give him his pacifier quickly enough:

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Nicholas is now smiling and laughing in response to mommy making faces and talking in a high-pitched voice to him. He is also very amused by kisses on his face, the ceiling fan (it doesn't even have to be moving--he just looks up at it and laughs, lol), and black and white patterns and pictures.

I printed out some black and white animal pictures from Parenting.com that he just LOVES. I put one of them on the wall next to the changing table, and he gets more excited each time he sees it. It's a cricket we've named Eugene, lol. He recognizes Eugene as well as the raccoon picture on the bumper of his crib (no name for the raccoon yet) and it seems like these pictures are his first friends. It's so cute to watch him study them.

Another no-so-cute habit he's picked up is to thrash, kick, and grunt while breastfeeding. He throws his head around with my nipple in his mouth which hurts like a mother. At first we thought it was out of frustration if the milk stopped flowing, but he's also done it while making big gulping sounds, so maybe he does it out of pleasure...I just don't know.